Senate Ways and Means votes on tax package

The Senate Ways and Means committee just passed the first bill of their tax package — the part that addresses tax loopholes and the sales tax increase.

Sen. Mike Carrell: “This may be one of the few times we get a chance to say at least what I’m thinking about the full tax package.” He said it seems that “some don’t want the public to know what’s going on. We don’t keep our word but we do want your money.”

Sen. Mike Hewitt: “(Republicans have) offered some solutions, I think .. but the minority party never has anything positive or good to say.”

The committee passed the package. Now they’re discussing the tobacco tax.

Sen. Mike Carrell: “I don’t smoke. I don’t have any other interest in this other than the truth,” he said, “I don’t think smoking is going to go down in the state of Washington. What I think is going to happen is that smuggling is going to go up.” He said it makes trips to Oregon “a lucrative thing to do on the weekend.” He said the bill is rife with problems.

Sen. Rodney Tom: “I don’t think it is about revenue. What I think it is about is it’s about reform,” he said, adding that the “direct medical cost” of a pack of cigarettes is more than $8. He said his kids will look back and ask what they were thinking by subsidizing smoking.

Sen. Cheryl Pfulg said more money from a pack of cigarettes goes to the state than the cigarette manufacturers. “If you don’t want them to smoke, make it illegal but this is really the exact opposite,” she said. She said they were creating a budget that depended on people doing something that will kill them. “I’m going to vote against it. I have never smoked. I certainly don’t advocate for it but I think it is very much a hypocrisy.”

Sen. Karen Keiser said increasing taxes on cigarettes decreases teen users. “Continued work on cessation needs to be done … but the best deterrent I think will be the price.”

Sen. Mark Schoessler said it’s not a deterrent to people who live on the boarder. He said it was an Idaho economic booster.

Sen. Mike Hewitt: “It’s good to remind ourselves that until 2002 we had a tobacco settlement at the national level that provided about $100 million a year … but this body sold that money off at 27 cents on the dollar,” he said. The money was supposed to be for tobacco cessation. “Perhaps we wouldn’t be talking about this today” had they not sold the settlement.

They voted: The cigarette tax passed.

Tags: Senate, tax package